Indie rock elder statesmen release "I Had a Dream That You Were Mine" next month

In case you hadn’t heard, two of your favorite indie music boys are teaming up for an album. Hamilton Leithauser of The Walkmen and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend and Discovery (and also of everything else. Dude’s been productive.) have released two singles from an upcoming album titled I Had a Dream That You Were Mine.

“A 1000 Times” (video above) is upbeat: all twinkly pianos and major chord guitar plucking. Lyrically it’s a bit more somber, following Leithauser as he reminisces and regrets on a late-night walk: “Oh tender November/the year’s almost over/if I had your number/I’d call you tomorrow.” His crooning voice quickly shifts into his throat-scratching falsetto howl. When this guy switches octaves, he does it with a vengeance.

The two tracks bode well for this album and this collaboration. Both artists have already said nice things about the record and about working with each other: on Twitter, Rostam said “If it sounds like we had fun making this record it’s cos we did.”

Just two days ago, Rostam premiered two new songs on KCRW radio, where he DJed a special set. The two songs are called “Gwan” and “Sick as a Dog” — the latter features Leithauser, though it’s unclear if this track will be on the new album. You can listen to that DJ set here via Stereogum.

My first introduction to YACHT was when a friend played their song “The Afterlife” in his car. I liked the dark, '80s vibe emanating from his speakers, and the lyrics immediately grabbed me, what with singer Claire L. Evans deadpanning “We know how to make life go on.” Their show at Emo's in Austin, Texas was a pretty dynamic affair. People danced whether they wanted to or not. Now the band has shared a new single, “Plastic Soul,” and an accompanying video. You can watch that below.

I know … I know … It must get tiresome with all this love in the air and Valentine's day looming ahead like an unstoppable force coming to claim your hard-earned cash and whatnot. But the Sweetheart compilation I've been plugging for the past few weeks (posting tracks by Beck and Jim James) has shared a new track. This time it's Fiona Apple and her cabaret-singing sister Maude Maggart singing Anton Karas' “I'm in the Middle of a Riddle.” You can check that out at the Wall Street Journal. PS: You can also hear Ben Harper covering Mazzy Star for this compilation over at Consequence of Sound. And the compilation is out on Feb. 4.

While I've already ruminated over the music of the hit HBO series “Girls,” it's always nice when the good music keeps a-flowin'. And now we've got a new track by Jenny Lewis, titled “Completely Not Me.” The song was produced by Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij, which I'm assuming is supposed to be impressive. But you can hear the track below, and check out the Girls Volume 2: All Adventurous Women Do… over at Entertainment Weekly.

I've always appreciated Kevin Drew's atmospheric musicality in Broken Social Scene. I never really followed his solo work, but I guess it's better late than never. Now Drew is coming out with a new record (titled Darlings), slated to hit stores on March 18. And he's shared a track off said album (“Good Sex”), which you can listen to below.

While it's probably completely out of left field, Led Zeppelin themselves always had sort of an unpredictably whimsical quality about them. I mean, come on … they made medieval stories sound ridiculously cool. Regardless, John Paul Jones has teamed up with electronic artist Deathprod, and together they are Minibus Pimps. You can read more about 'em over at Pitchfork.

A friend first introduced me to Neutral Milk Hotel my sophomore year of high school, and (no joke!) my life was changed. I understood what it meant to make music an actual art form. Poetry and rock and roll had melted together into these seamless barrage of sound, all of it surrounding Jeff Mangum and his vibrant guitar. And now (after never thinking it was possible), I'll get to see them live because the band has added some more dates to their tour, and they'll be stopping at Albuquerque's Kiva Auditorium on April 17. Tickets went on sale this morning, so go get 'em before they sell out (if they haven't already). You can also hear my all-time favorite NMH track (“Two Headed Boy, Pt. 2) below.

Alibi Managing Editor and Music Editor Samantha Anne Carrillo covered Syracuse punk outfit Perfect Pussy in one of her Four Up's and noted how Captured Tracks had enough confidence in the band to sign them … Well, you can see why with their track “Driver” off their upcoming full-length debut (Say Yes To Love), which hits online and physical stores on March 18. It looks like the noise is headed our way.

Let those withering clouds part and the sonic sun descend upon the masses. It's been “confirmed” that Jack White and Neil Young have recorded an album of covers (apparently with Jack White handling production duties). According to music journalist Michael Goldberg, a source close to the project has confirmed it, but you know how that stuff goes. I say speculation until a physical copy is in my hands. It looks like I need to hit up Third Man Records for an advanced copy, what what!

For the past few weeks, music blogs have been abuzz over the long-lost Johnny Cash album (Out Among the Stars), which was recorded in the early '80s. The record will get a proper release, thanks to his son John Carter Cash. And now Cash's son has picked the album's lead single (“She Used to Love Me a Lot”). The album hits the music-sphere on March 25, but you can hear the aforementioned track below.

I've mentioned before that I like Ty Segall. I like his thrashy, disgusting, melted face approach to garage rock. It's supposed to be that way. And now his side project FUZZ has released a cover of The Kinks' track “Till The End Of The Day.” You can hear that below.

I don't know what it is with me and losing interest after a band's first album. It's a curse. That's how it went with The Mars Volta. De-Loused in the Comatorium was a fantastic album that highlighted my sophomore year of high school. (Or was it junior year?) Either way, now former member Omar Rodríguez-López and former Red Hot Chili Peppers member John Frusciante have started a new collaboration. The project is called Kimono Kult, and they're fixing to release a debut EP (Hiding in the Light) on March 4. But you can hear a new track from this group over at Rolling Stone.

It's always exciting when two powerhouse divas get together for a collaboration. (Britney and Madonna, anyone?) So I'm sure Shakira's collaboration with Rihanna will be no different. And the thing about Shakira (besides her being this pop sensation) was that she used to be this cool, alternative, Latin musician. Check out Dónde Están Los Ladrones? or her MTV Unplugged version of “Ciega, Sordomuda” if you don't believe me. That album is fantastic. Either way, I'm sure most people will go nuts over this track, so here's “Can't Remember to Forget You.”

I posted a couple weeks ago that Starbucks was releasing Sweethearts 2014, featuring numerous covers of love songs by the likes of Fiona Apple, Beck, Vampire Weekend and more. Now, Beck has made his track available—a cover of John Lennon’s “Love,” which you can listen to below, and you can head over to Consequence of Sound for the full tracklist. The compilation is set to hit the music-sphere on Valentine’s Day. Que cute.

When did Amazon start streaming full albums? I guess I was napping. Like most weeks in this day and age, there’s free music that’s alive and well, sending sound vibrations across the land ... a sneak preview into an unknown dimension. Or a familiar one if you’re a fan. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks have made their latest opus (Wig Out at Jagbags) available for streaming online, and if that’s not your bag, then Del the Funky Homosapien has you covered.

I don’t consider myself too much of a Flaming Lips fan. I’ve heard some stuff that I’ve liked, and could also do without some other stuff as well. But I do love a band that never stops, and considering I read about them almost every week (minor exaggeration), they’ve gotta be tireless, restless and ____-less. Now they’ve shared a cover of The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” You can hear that below.

I don’t care what people say ... I like The Eagles. When I was growing up, my Ma and Pa would always play their Greatest Hits album on the car stereo when we would take long trips or go for leisurely drives. And it always stuck with me. Tracks like “Witchy Woman,” their ever-famous “Hotel California,” and “Take It Easy” shepherded me into adolescence. And now the band is still doing it up, and in kind of a big way. Their 1976 album Hotel California has been made into a giant LP. That’s right, a giant record. You can read more at NME.

You ‘member Foster the People? That band that hit it big with that song “Pumped Up Kicks”? Well they just released a 45-second teaser that contains a snippet of a new track (probably taken from a new album?). You can view that below.

Wait ... you didn’t think the album streamage was over, did you? Not by a long shot. First up, we got Peter Gabriel’s ... And I’ll Scratch Yours (as well as its predecessor Scratch My Back) streaming in full over at NPR. And then we also got hip-hop artist Angel Haze’s major debut LP (Dirty Gold) streaming over here. Well you can also go buy it, since it’s out and about in stores, but just in case you wanted a sneak peak ...

It’s always a treat when an unreleased, unheard and un-thought-of song from a band you know about or admire comes out. It’s somewhat new. Or new to you. And now avant-pop-rock masterminds Talking Heads have shared a previously unheard track from 1976 (before the band released their debut LP). The instrumental track (with the default title “Theme”) was supposedly recorded from a show the band played at CBGB’s, opening for Television. You can hear that below.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As I was about to post this week’s Rooster Roundabout online, I got an email from Pixies’ website, announcing the release of a brand new EP (EP2) and a new video for their track “Blue Eyed Hexe” (which you can view below). I have to admit that since Kim Deal left the band, my interest has sort of waned. Not to say they’re no longer relevant, just a tad less interesting. And being as ADD as I am, it’s easy to lose interest. However, I’m sure some people are really excited for new music from this tweaked institution of a band.